Ancient robbery and reuse between the late Eighteenth and the early Nineteenth Dynasty: a view from the tomb MIDAN.05 at Dra Abu el-Naga

Tomb robberies were common practice in ancient Egypt, as attested by textual sources and archaeological evidence. In recent years, many studies pointed to a further factor that could disrupt the original burial settings: the reuse of coffins and grave goods. Nigel Strudwick has provided important and stimulating thoughts on both topics. The two elements — robberies and reuse — intertwined and interacted in different ways, depending on the situation, making the overall picture not so immediately obvious. These aspects also raise a significant problem: the religious attitude of the ancient Egyptians involved, especially in the case of reuse. Usually, reuse seems to spread at the beginning of the Third Intermediate Period, along with a remarkable increase in tomb robberies. Evidence from shaft P3, located in the courtyard of tomb MIDAN.05 at Dra Abu el-Naga (Theban necropolis), whose archaeological investigation was completed in 2014 by the expedition of the University of Pisa, reveals that it was already practiced in the late Eighteenth–early Nineteenth Dynasty, in the social context of the Theban elite and in a period of generally widespread wealth and prosperity. This paper shall examine issues and problems raised by such practice in the light of the findings and the archaeological context of shaft P3.